


A New Kind of Fear

by justbygrace



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Canon verse, F/M, slightly Dark Doctor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 10:09:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10683144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justbygrace/pseuds/justbygrace
Summary: A confrontation on a faraway planet helps Rose and the Doctor come to a better understanding of each other.





	A New Kind of Fear

He was quite sure Rose had gone this way, but the silence answering his calls were worrisome; it wasn't her anger he was worried about, but what it would attract. The natives of the planet they were on fed off emotions and the ones Rose was giving off were bound to draw precisely the wrong sort of attention. With this in mind, he quickened his pace, hoping to spot her before someone else did.

As he searched, he brutally pushed back the knowledge that Rose's anger and refusal to stay by his side was entirely his fault. It had started on the previous planet, right after they had dropped off Adam. The prince of Ydolem was a handsome representative of his species, all long limbs and spiky hair and remarkably humanoid (with the exception of a tail), and he and Rose had immediately hit it off, chatting easily about anything and everything while the Doctor skulked in the background. If that's all he had done maybe she wouldn't have gotten so angry at him, but the sight of her chattering to the pretty boy was eventually more than he could handle and he strode forward, grabbing Rose's hand and announcing they had to be off immediately. The moment the TARDIS doors had slammed behind them, Rose had spun on him demanding to know what his problem was. He had been unable to give her a satisfactory answer and she stalked away leaving him feeling even more like a prize idiot than he already did. The moment they had landed on this planet, Rose was ahead of him out the door striding towards the open-air market and ignoring his pleas to be careful. 

It had been three hours since he had seen her last and he was worried. As he stormed up and down the aisles, poking his nose into vendor's stalls and under curtains, he combatted his rising irritation with the knowledge that once Rose was safe he could figure out a way to apologize and maybe things could get back to normal (or as much of a normal as there was for a Time Lord and his companion in the TARDIS). His train of thought was shattered by the unmistakable sound of her shouting his name and his hearts kicked into overdrive as he raced towards the noise. 

He found her backed into the corner of a dingy alleyway, surrounded by several greasy creatures of the sort that he knew to profit by preying on the innocent and the young. They were advancing steadily upon her, their jeers echoing off the walls and his vision narrowed, the edges burning a fiery red before he charged. He was a whirlwind of motion, hardly aware of what he was doing, hitting, kicking, and shoving. He gradually became aware of himself, a knee pressed to the chest of one and his forearm crushing the windpipe of another. Rose had her hands wrapped around his upper arm, tugging him backwards, and he allowed her to move him. He refused to meet her gaze, but he was also unable to rouse any horror at the blood that spattered the walls.

She transferred her hand to his, intertwining their fingers and gently leading him in the direction of the TARDIS. They walked into the ship in silence, his guilt and fear becoming stronger with each progressive step. She stopped by the console, gently indicating that he send them into the vortex, before guiding them down the hall to the medbay. She gathered the supplies she needed quickly, dabbing antiseptic on his knuckles, and he didn't bother to tell her that he didn't need that, his biology would have him healed in a few hours. He was sure that as soon as she came to her senses she would ask to be taken home and every time she opened her mouth, he cringed.

At length she finished her medical work, grabbing his hand again and pulling him towards the Library. He followed her mutely, unsure of what she had in mind only that wherever she would go he was going to follow. When they reached the comfortable room, she made directly for the couch, plucking up a blanket on the way over. With a gentle tug on his hand, he collapsed next to her and she spread the blanket over both of them before lifting his arm and snuggling into his side. He tentatively wrapped that arm around her and she let out a contented sigh before grabbing the remote off the table and flicking on an old science show that he often went on about how much he loved. For a long time neither of them said anything and then he let out a deep sigh, allowing his shoulders to relax and pressing a soft kiss to the crown of her head. He felt her smile against him before she nestled into him further and closed her eyes, one hand fisted into the front of his jumper.


End file.
